a little dab will do you, a little dab will do you," if you can smell it on yourself, too much. thank you for watching, "studio b" with shepard starts now. >>shepard: the news begins anew. , radiation in the sea and plutonium in the soil. the nuclear disaster in japan spreading to a dangerous new level. box number two, president obama tonight will address the nation in the "not "war in libya with a live report from the white house and a team of experts. in box three, foreign internet outage brought to you by american software. should the united states ban the sale of cyber censorship products to overseas regime? or can it? and what if the president decides to use it on us? all is ahead unless breaking news changes everything. this is "studio b," but, first

from fox at 3:00 in new york, president obama set to address the american people tonight to explain the u.s. mission in libya. the reasoning behind it. the u.s. military's role, and are we go from here. all this comes on the heels of a significant, rather, a dramatic victory for the administration with nato agreeing yesterday to take command of the mission including the ground attack. that as international airstrikes continue for the 9th night over the nation. libya state tv broadcast these images from a southern city of sabha claiming the attacks were against civilians. top nato commander today hitting back against suggestions that nato forces are essentially providing air cover for the rebels. >> our goal, our goal, it is to help protect civilians and population centers from attack

or that are the threat of an attack. >>shepard: the in six not to take sides but we have. the opposition is benefiting, before the no-fly zone they were in trouble but this has weakened the military. and now the two sides are fighting on equal terms because of us and they are closing in on muammar qaddafi's hometown, a key government stronghold on the road to tripoli. and now to fox coverage from the pentagon, the white house, and first, back to steve harrigan this weekend in tripoli. steve, u.s. commanders warn that rebel gains are fragile. what is the reasoning? >>steve: the gains have been remarkable with rebels advancing 200 miles and taken over four

cities, to oil refineries and now threatening his hometown. they are fragile because the advances have been made possible by air power. it has not been a head to head, man to man fight, but, essentially air powered has weakened muammar qaddafi tanks and resupply vehicles and the government soldiers have been retreating without much of a fight, the rebels are taking territory that is left vacated by government forces. >>shepard: are they getting international internationally on the airstrikes? >>steve: that is getting traction internationally. the russian foreign minister is weighing in saying the strikes are going way beyond what the u.n. mandated, way beyond protecting civilians. and that could become an issue around one city because muammar qaddafi in his hometown has a lot of popular support there, and if the goal is to protect the civilians with the airstrikes, it makes it complicated if the civilians do

support muammar qaddafi's government. >>shepard: and overnight in tripoli we learned how many military missions the united states has carried out on libya compared to the coalition partners. according to the ptagon the coalition produced 310 airstrike missions, the u.s. aircraft a total of 318 of those. of course, nato is now formally in charge of the no-fly zone, i should say 318 for us and 310 for the coalition. will it take the lead from the u.s. in the airstrikes? and now to the pentagon. are nato allies picking up more of the anythings? >>reporter: we see them pick up the pace but it is political half in half with the u.s. carrying out a large number of the airstrikes. and we have the tomahawks, the new video off of the ship, missiles fired from the mediterranean at targets in libya, and the u.s. and nato

allies have fired 199 missiles so far, but by far most of those tomahawks were fired by u.s. warships. we are now hearing and we can confirm from the u.s. navy that in the coming weeks they we prepare to leave, rather, to pull the naval vessels out of the mediterranean but that will not happen for several weeks. >>shepard: and civilian casualties? what do we know is happening? >>guest: we hear, you know, a lot of reports from the libyan government about civilian casualties but what we are hearing from pentagon officials is that, in fact, muammar qaddafi is bringing bodies out of the morgues and placing them at sites to pretend that they are, they were killed in airstrikes. listen to defense secretary gates yesterday. >> the truth of the matter is we have trouble coming up with proof of any civilian casualties that we have been responsible

for. but we do have a lot of intelligence reporting about muammar qaddafi taking the bodies of people he has killed and putting them at the sites where we have attacked. >>reporter: officials say that the rebel opposition is about 60 miles east of a key town that is, of course, muammar qaddafi's hometown. it would be a strategic victory, another 250 miles, then, to the capital of tripoli. >>shepard: thank you, from the pentagon. as i mentioned at the top of the hour, president obama will address the nation tonight in a live prime time speech on the mission in libya, and the white house said that from the start this is not a war. but the reality on the background is certainly that it is a war. and lawmakers on both sides demand answers on the nature and the cost of the mission in the end game so the president will speak during fox report tonight and we will have team fox coverage. now to the white house. what to we expect to hear from

him? is it that he will tell a new story? or tell the old story ... better? >>reporter: well, he will lay out where we were. where we are. and where we are going making the case he promised that the u.s. would be in the lead for days, not weeks and he can say now nato is assuming command of the military operation and we know that tomorrow the u.s. and key allies will talk about the political future for libya. we believe president obama has spoken with the key counterparts on that issue and, so, perhaps, talk about the future of libya and what he sees after muammar qaddafi. we expect him to lay out the case for the nation. some say it should have happened a while ago but tonight he makes the case. >>shepard: and secretary of state, hillary clinton spoke out what she says would have happened if the united states had nod taken action. >>reporter: and we have her from a variety of officials who sound like they have been haunted by the rwanda massacre in the 1990's when the clinton

administration was in the white house about what happened if they did not take action. here is secretary clinton on that issue. >>guest: if we were sitting here and benghazi was taken, and tens of thousands of people had been slaughtered and hundreds of thousands had fled, some over the border to egypt, destabilizing egypt during its particularly delicate transition, we would be sitting here and people in the congress and elsewhere, would be saying, why didn't we do something? >> secretary clinton and her counterpart made their case about the reasons for action in libya and why libya could be different than the other countries that are experiencing so much turmoil in the middle east. tonight we hear from the commander in chief himself. >>shepard: mike, thank you. the president will speak during fox report tonight, and our coverage begins at 7:00 eastern, 6:00 in oxford, and the president will speak at half time of our program and we will bring you the speech live in a

special o'reilly factor to follow at 7:00 eastern and 6:00 central on fox report. top members of the obama administration say libya is not a threat to the united states at all and the international in fly zone is the right thing to do and the president has to explain why we were doing it. and how we will keep this from escalating. we will sort it out with bill [ rge ] psst. constated? phillips' caplet use gnesium, an ingredient that works more naturally wityour colon than stimulant xatives, for fective reli of constipation without cramps. thanks. [ professor ] good morning students. today, we're gonna... or annuity over 10 or even 20 years? the experts at imperial can convert

your long-term payout into a lump sum of cash today. requires more than wishful thinking. it requires determination and decisive action. go to e-trade and get unbiased analyst ratings and 24/7 help from award-winning customer support to take control of your finances and your life. tap into the power of revolutionary mobile apps. to trade wherever. whenever.

life isn't fully experienced sitting idly by. neither is investing. e-trade. investing unleashed. aren't getting enough whole grain. but actually, it's never been easier to get the whole grain you want from your favorite big g cereals. from cheerios to lucky charms, there's whole grain in every box. make sure to look for the white eck. [soft music] ♪

>>shepard: and we wait to hear from president obama on the mission in libya officials are defending the decision to get involved saying it is not about just libya. >> i don't think it is vital interest for the united states but we clearly have interests there. and it is part of the region which is a vital interest for the united states. >> did libya attack us? no. they did not. do they have a critical role in this region? do they neighbor two countries you mentioned one, egypt, the other tunisia, that are going through extraordinary

transformations and cannot afford to be destabilized by conflict on their borders? yes. >> the secretary of defense and hillary clinton on "meet the press," and tonight we hear from the president. and former governor bill richardson joins us now. governor, how do you feel about this thing? the message being all offer the place, it is tough to spread. >>guest: well, i am not speaking for the administration, they don't brief me but i believe what the president will say is that, number one, this is a limited operation; number two, it is multinational and involves our nato allies; number three, we got in because it was a humanitarian disaster about to happen. i believe the airstrikes we have initiated with nato have prevented humanitarian carnage and that the end game is going

to be, hopefully, a transition for a provisional government led by the rebels. and lastly, that we're acting in concert with our allies and libya is important to nato. it is important to italy, france, to britain, to north africa, and we're doing the right thing. i agree with the president. >>shepard: we talk about handing it over to a government led by the rebels but the only rebels i know about are the ole miss ones and they are having a good time in baseball. but these rebels we do not know who they are? >>guest: we know they are not muammar qaddafi and they are not killing their own people. you are right, we know very little. it will mean a transition for them much and i can already see all the money that was frozen that muammar qaddafi stole to promote civil society and democratic institutions there. france, italy, nato, north african countries, arab league,

will have to take the lead in this transition because we cannot stay there. this is not our responsibility. we're already in iraq and afghanistan. but to be part of a solution to avoid this carnage in a country that produces a lot of energy, a lot of oil for the west, for us, as well, it makes sense to bring stability and we're taking a humanitarian action with the airstrikes beyond this involvement, i don't think we should have any ground troops. i don't think we should take the lead. this is what i think the president will say in the days ahead. nato will increase a number of airstrikes, and take more of a military lead, as it should. >> should we draw a line about where we will go in the future as humanitarian crises come about? i can look at four or five nations where similar things are possible. >>guest: well, you can't really draw things, shep -- i

don't think, for instance, what is happening in the other countries ... yes, there are demonstrations. there is all kinds of turmoil. but, muammar qaddafi literally was killing his own people. and he has used chemical gas and nerve gas and mustard gas. the guy is capable of doing irrational things. does it require the limited intervention that we have done? i think the answer is yes. the administration should have briefed more members of congress. should have explained it better. but in the enthey are doing -- in the end they are doing it now. >>shepard: listen to joe lieberman here and his take on that. >>guest: i would say with regard to syria, that assad, the dictator there, ought to and probably is getting a clear message. if he turns his weapons on his people and begins to slaughter them as muammar qaddafi did, he will run the risk of having the world community come in and

impose a no-fly zone and protect civilian population as we are doing in libya. >>shepard: so the hope is this would send a message to syria and would not happen but there is the other possibility that you then have to start doing this in other places and what happens if this happens in saudi arabia or bahrain as it has to some degree? >>guest: well, listen, i'm an ex governor i don't have to make these decisions but i do think it makes sense to have a strategic policy where you do draw the line in certain cases as you suggested. but, events are moving so fast, this is a time of enormous turmoil. look what is happened in japan and look what happened in the middle east. ic we have -- i think we have to give the president and his people a break and support in not being able to for see everything that has happened or will happen. these are enormously complicated

times and it is important we come together and be bipartisan and we talk as a nation in a positive, bipartisan way. just like you are. >>shepard: enormously complicated without doubt, there is a lot of work ahead. governor and ambassador, great to see you. all right, muammar qaddafi now, the regime and other governments are trying to put a lid on uprising by blocking internet access and american companies are helping. should the u.s. government do something about that? if so, what should it do? plus, what if the u.s. turned ♪ ♪ ♪

[ male annouer ] with amazing innovation, driven by rentless competition, wireless puts the world at your command. ♪

wirfunny thingthe world about vegetables...d. they fill you up without filling you out. yes! v8 juice gives you three of your five daily servings of vegetables. that's what i'm talking about! v8. what's your number? when we turn lobster into irresistible creations like our new lobster-and-shrimp trio with a parmesan lobster bake, our decadent lobster lover's dream and eleven more choices. right now at red lobster.

>>shepard: and the internet play add huge role in unrest in

the middle east. from egypt, libya, bahrain, yemen, demonstrators used the internet to organize mass protests but according to the reporting of the "wall street journal," many middle east countries use software and technology from american companies to clamp down on opposition groups blocking anti-government sites or shutting down the internet altogether. according to the reporting of the "wall street journal," officials say they cannot control how customers use the product in response to the crackdown we are told the state department has spent millions on software to help dissidentses get an the blocks. some argue the u.s. could save money by not, rather, telling companies not to sell to certain countries. can the government do that? and now to the judge, judge napolitano. turning off the internet, touchy

subject. >>judge napolitano: it is touchy. first, the first amendment prohibits the government from elementing speech, it cannot shut down radio, newspapers or cable tv or broadcast tv or the internet. senator lieberman introduced legislation that would give the president emergency powers during a national emergency that he declared, which would authorize him to shut down the internet and president obama and the white house have indicated their support for the legislation. it has not made its way out of the senate. yet. that would be unheard of in american history. now, we look at what is happening in other country and our colleagues at the "wall street journal" report that remember when egypt shut down the interpret before the president monday -- mubarak resigned? they bought that software from a company from california. if you sell something overseas, you need a license from the treasury department, and the

stated purpose of that license is to make sure that you pay the fees and taxes to the treasury department on the profits you earn from your sales overseas. but, it also enables the treasury department to decide what you can sell overseas and what you can't and it lets the treasury department send the agents to look at and examine whatever you are selling. question: does the government know the software exists? yes. can the government stop the software from going out of the country? with the strock of a -- stroke of a pen. and our government would like to have the software, as well. so, that if people demanded more freedom and the federal government wanted us to not have to much and we used the internet, they could stop the internet. people discuss this stuff. >>shepard: we are talking about some future president in

some future time when something goes whacky and what if the president decides constitutes an emergency, that allows you to turn off the internet? >>judge napolitano: for mubarak it was an emergency. for here there is no standard, an emergency is whatever the president who was president at the time thought it was. i hate the idea. because it interferes with free speech. free speech is a natural right and its protection is guaranteed by the constitution which means two things: the government cannot interfere with it and the government must protect you from those who try to interfere with it. >>shepard: in short, go ahead and let them, don't let them sell this stuff at least for now, but, our federal government, you want to keep the stuff. >>judge napolitano: i'm in favor of free trade and i am conflicted on this, so if the dictator of bahrain wants to buy something from a manufacturer in northern california, they should be able to sell it but the "it," if that interferes with the profound human liberty there is,

which is freedom of speech. >>shepard: you say the dictator in bahrain and we can be high and mighty with muammar qaddafi, but this has happened on a smaller scale in bahrain because they were more successful putting it down in the beginning. if it goes crazy in bahrain and saudi arabia --. >>judge napolitano: secretary gates said yesterday saying they are not a threat to our national security in a vital region. >>shepard: who is not a threat to our national security? >>judge napolitano: libya, the secretary of defense said this, so why we are bombing them? what will the president saying: humanitarian reasons. killing to be humanitarians. >>shepard: it is not partisan, but, the world is changing and i am not sure anyone knows what to do. all right, judge.

we will watch for you on "freedom watch" tonight. and that comes on the fox business network, a big day for fox business network, a big night, and if you have not watched the fox business network, do you know it gives you the power to process officer and the fastest growing business news in all of news? and if you do not get it, you must demand it! see you tonight, judge. a week ago, now, the rebels were breaking for defeat and the united states came in and killed some of the other side, knocked out all stuff, and one said it is the first time, a rebel, he ever held a gun. a ragtag bunch, and now they have us on our side, and the opposition is headed toward tripoli with us at their back and muammar qaddafi's hometown is in the path and that is a big deal, the town is where muammar

qaddafi was born and raised and you hit that thing: rebels are advancing, next. [ mom ] can a little bowl of cereal change your life?

i think it can. one of the challenges for kayla being glun-free is actually finding choices the whole family will love. then we discovered chex cereals. five flavors of chex are gluten-free, including the honey nut flavor, and that's amazing to a mom like me. as a parent you don't want to have to tell your kids "no" all the time. it's nice for me to be able to say "yes"

to something that they want to eat. [ male announcer ] chex cereal. five flavors. gluten free. a body at rest tends to stay at rest... while a body in motion tends to stay in motion. staying active can actually ease arthritis sympms. but if you have arthris, staying active can be difficult. prescription celebrex can help relieve arthritis pain so your body can stay in motion. because just one 200mg celebrex a day can provide 24 hour relief for many with arthritis pain and inflammation. plus, in clinical studies, celebrex is proven to improve daily physical function so moving is easier. and celebrex is not a narcotic. when it comes to relieving your arthritis pain, you and your doctor need to balance the benefits with the risks. all prescription nsaids, like celebrex, ibuprofen, naproxen, and meloxicam have the same cardiovascular warning. they all may increase the chance of heart attack or stroke, which can lead to death. this chance increases if you have heart disease or risk factors such as high blood pressure

or when nsaids are taken for long periods nsaids, including celebrex, increase the chance of serious skin or allergic reactions or stomach and intestine problems, such as bleeding and ulcers, which can occur without warning and may cause death. patients also taking aspirin and the elderly are at increased risk for stomach bleeding and ulcers. do not take celebrex if you've had an asthma attack, hives, or other allergies to aspirin, nsaids or sulnamides. get help right away if you have swelling of the face or throat, or trouble breathing. tell your doctor your medical history anfind an arthritis treatment for you. visit celebrex.com and ask your doctor about celebrex. for a body in motion. >>shepard: this is "studio b" at the bottom of the hour and time for the top of the news. boosted by united states support the rest of the coalition, the libyan opposition going from near defeat to advancing on muammar qaddafi's hometown. the march toward that key government stronghold is after forces pounded the libyan army's

weapons and significantly damaged their air force. the rebels now have cities they were on the verge of losing and now the opposition controls the oil terminal in the eastern part of the country. with us is the former defense secretary under the clinton administration, william cohen. how are you feeling about progress? >>guest: well, to date you could say saving thousands of lives is a success. but you have raised some very important issues in your previous segment. namely, what is the policy of the united states going forward? and is this setting a precedent that we will have to either live with? follow? or abandon in the future. there are many other countries, a number of other countries in the region who have similar dissent and the issue is do we have a policy if you have a authoritarian regime that uses excessive power will the united states and nato now take, and

u.n., now take an interest and will intervene and establish a no-fly zone and seek to altar the political regime on the ground? that is a question. whether that is a policy of the u.s. not articulated and whether it can be a a precedent remainso be seem. >>shepard: what happens if there is not imminent danger to the united states, that there is a process we did not go through. >>guest: well, secretary gates raised this issue at the beginning, wanting to be very sure, that with had a vital interest involved and i think he articulated it again yesterday saying libya was not in our "vital" national security interests saying the entire region, of course, was, raising the issue, what happens in bahrain? the dissidents decide to elevate the dissent? if the king takes middlary action against them, does that mean we call for removal of the king to step down?

or we will intervene with a if -- no-fly zone, the president has to be clear, the administration has to be clear, in terms of what we do in similar situations if they escalate beyond where they are now. >>shepard: is it fair to look at this and say, we are setting ourselves up for a bit of a war. there is always the matter of iran and saudi arabia on the other, saudi arabia partners with oil and bahrain with our 5th fleet, it is about to get real complicated. >>guest: clearly we have intervened on the side of rebels in libya and there is no end game that would allow muammar qaddafi to stay in power. whether we call it a humanitarian exercise, or just seeking to prevent the slaughter of millions, our end game is to see his removal. if we say something different we

use credibility, although it is not part of the u.n. resolution, the president probably cannot say that is our ultimate goal at least politically if not militarily, that would stir some reaction by the u.n., by the arab league, which, really, was, i think the factor, when they came out and they said we want a "no-fly zone," that made a difference. >>shepard: it seems silly to ignore the elephant in the room, the italians and the french, getting their oil from libya and we cannot have european oil problems and just like last time, part of the last war we did was about oil, part of it. part this is about oil, too, should we be straight about that? >>guest: certainly as oil affects the europeans far more than the united states. since the brits and french and others are with us in iraq and afghanistan, we should be with them on this issue. but again, what our policy going

forward? that remains to be scene. >>shepard: we neat end games and policy. an honor to have you here, thank you. in yemen, the u.s.-backed president -- remember, we backed the budget in yemen -- he has helped us with the fight on terror and he is scrapping his offer to step down. demonstrators again taking to the streets in the yemen capital , and the president saleh is a key ally in the united states battling al qaeda on the peninsula. and a blast at a factory that makes explosive in yemen killed 78 after local residents looted the facility n syria the sons calling on the government to protect the rights of protesters after reports of a crackdown. this is a big mess. there is a general on one side in yemen, and then there is the

leader on the other side and they both have their own armies. james is at the state department. the regime of syrian president assad is denying responsibility for killing the protesters this weekend. >>reporter: the government is saying that armed gangs are responsible in the protesters the past week, when more than 70 people have been killed. there is graphic footage, the most graphic to emerge from the conflict taken in a southern city where the protests first took hold back march 23rd. scenes like this and protests took place over the weekend in damascus, and would have been unthinkable 90 days ago. as in bahrain syria is full of sectarian difference with a sunni majority under the rule of a shiite minority. and among the demands is the lifting of an emergency law that has been in place and has been

used to stop dissent since 1963 and promises from the government to do that and they have in the materialized. >>shepard: the president assad was to deliver a televised address to his nation on sunday night but that did not happen and it looks like they are playing games with us along the way. >>reporter: or perhaps not knowing how to conflict the situation, the regime sent out contradictory messages. the obama administration for its part, has long sought to court assad with the hope of getting him from the alliance from iran and over the decade that assad has been in power with support for what mass and -- from hamas and hezbollah, he has been more of an obstacle. >> if this sources relations between syria and the west iran could welcome that because they worry about syria moving further

into the western orbit so it is possible that the in between outcome represents the best outcome from iran's perspective. >>reporter: yesterday and today secretary of state, hillary clinton and officials have told us we should not expect the u.s. to intervene libya style in syria because president assad is using excessive police action he is not in the eyes of the west using military force, at least not yet. >>shepard: okay. thank you, jails. and now egypt, we have reports that the ousted president and the family are under house arrest. the president mubarak stepped down after a massive 18-day uprising. and at least one report in egypt claimed that he and his family traveled to saudi arabia for medical treatment but according to several ages, the military leaders say that did not happen at all, and the state funds report that mubarak will face numerous charges including corruption, and possibly murder

charges for the deaths of some of the protesters. the gas prices are going up again, and americans are paying more for a gallon of gas than a week ago despite prices dropping if recent days. why the disconnect? and gerri will be here to explain. and, more evidence of radiation leaks at japan's nuclear plant, 100,000 times the normal level? really? officials are finding new signs of radiation next. [ male announcer ] this...is the network.

a living, breathing intelligence that's helping business rethink how to do business. in here, machines tell factories when they're thirsty. so soft drink companie can manage thousands of vending machines in real time. ♪ and customers find what they want...when they want it most. it's the at&t network -- a network of possibilities, creating and integrating solutions, helping business, and the world...work. rethink possible.

♪ [ male announcer ] help brazil reduce its overall reliance on foreign imports with the launch of the country's largest petrochemical operation. ♪ when emerson takes up the challenge, "it's never been done before" simply becomes consider it solved. emerson. ♪

>>shepard: new soons that radiation from japan's crippled nuclear plant is spreading. crews have discovered radioactive plutonium in the soil at several spots around the complex. the experts say that is more toxic than uranium, one of the most toxics substances on earth. and officials now say they have found high radiation levels in the water inside unit two. and they say the levels are 100,000 times the normal amount.

a top official says that is likely because of a partial core meltdown which we have known from the very beginning was going on but they did not want to tell us. and we are told officials outside the complex discovered dangerously high levels of radiation? seawater up to a mile away. and now dominic from osaka, japan. hello, dominic. >>reporter: those levels in the sea up to four times above safety standards, enough, actually, to induce radiation sickness in anyone who actually finds themself caught up in the water or consuming anything that is living in that water. including seaweed and seafood and people still eating from the sea in the north although the authorities are saying, lebanese do not, for the team being. and it was supposed to be containment process, controlling the temperatures at fuel rods but they cannot do that because

repeated leaks. and now, more on the plutonium there. that has been found five separate locations in the plant compound itself, and half a mile away from the reactors, and they found it in samples taken a week ago and they cannot give us updates on the rates of plutonium today but there is indication from officials that they expect levels to be much higher and they expect further leaks from different sources and they are not sure which plant it is coming from, most likely number three because that has uranium and plutonium from there so until they find out the source it is hard to tackle the problem. it is going to take quite some time. >>shepard: thank you, dominic, gas prices are up today for the 6 the day in a row with national average climbing to $3.58 and oil prices fell, slightly, after

libyan rebels recaptured the key oil ports and promised to resume exports but prices 22 percent above from the middle of february. and now gerri from the fox business network anchor of the "willis report" and the gas prices keep going up. >>guest: that will continue. since april, april fool's the deadline for changing over the formulation from winter grid to summer grid is automatically it is more expensive with summer driving season and more demand, association those are the domestic pressures on gas prices. we have what is going on in the middle east and lots of worry and concern about gas prices and folks say they are going up $4 or higher. >>neil: what kind of evidence do we have that it is affecting the overall economy? >>reporter: consumer spending from commerce department is growing dramatically, and, in fact, if february it was twice the level of january, and, this

is because of rising gas prices and rising food prices and now the question is, how long can you sustain that as family? probably not very long, and my guess is, this is really going to start hitting people hard, they will have to put more of their budget toward gas prices in the future and that will not be good for the broader economy. >>shepard: takes money away from everything else. >>reporter: that is right. >>shepard: gerri, each weekday at 5:00 eastern. since the united states got involved in libya a week ago the obama administration has been trying to limit its role in the conflict, or at at least limit the public role. what does that mean for america's image and around the world? that is ahead. [ male announcer ] nature valley

sweet & salty nut bars... they're made from whole roasted nuts and dipped in creamy peanut butter, making your craving for a sweet & salty bar irresistible, by nature valley.

>>shepard: and republicans and some democrats in congress say the united states military role in libya is unclear. maybe that say that because the united states military role is unclear. the defense secretary gates and secretary of state, hillary clinton, stressed the message that the role and the mission will shrink. it may. tonight the white house reports that the president will explain that in an address to the membership during fox report. with us now from washington, retired air force colonel and former united states assistant secretary of state for public affairs with us. good to see you. p.j. recently left the state department. but, first, one thing i have learned covering from the anchor desk and the field about there war thing we do so often, you need to have a mission, you need to state it, and you need to have a plan and an exit game. if we have all that stuff, it is hard to figure it out. >>guest: starting from top-to-bottom, the president articulated the administration's

policy which is that muammar qaddafi has to go. his response to the unrest we have seen remarkably across the region is dramatically different than what we saw in tunisia and egypt. in egypt, as an example, fundamentally the egyptian military said from the outset we will not turn our guns on our own people. qaddafi has chosen a different and more tragic path. the risk was that he would be able to overrun his opposition and attack civilian populations in the process, so the military intervention which followed a u.n. security council resolution and a clear statement from the arab league is to protect civilians but in the process of that, protecting opposition that can present an alternate to qaddafi. >>shepard: all right. but, how is it that the american people are supposed to get their heads around our saying one thing and wanting that one thing but doing something else? it is a little disingenuous to say we were just carrying out a

no-fly zone when we saw the pictures of us shooting up people and blowing up equipment on the road and supporting the people who do not have any organization and barely know how to use a gun. >>guest: secretary gates was clear. as soon as the idea of a no-fly zone was presented, from saying this will involve real combat, including attacks on capability of the libyan air force and military in order to create the kind of security zone that now largely exists so we have been clear from the out set about that. >>shepard: you left the state department after the bradley manning thing, and he is the one who was responsible for some of the leaking to get out to the wikileaks and we have learned a lot from that and there has been wide-spread information about his, the way he was held while in captivity and abuses of him by anyone's

definition of abuse, and a quote from you "i thought the treatment of bradley mapping was undermining a legitimate prosecution of an individual profoundly affecting u.s. national security," ridiculous and counterproductive and stupid on the part of the department of defense. >>guest: look, those are very strongly held views i have and i expressed them to an academic group at m.i.t. and when the controversy emerged i felt the only thing i could do was resign. that said, i do believe that in the concept of strategic narrative the fact that for us to have impact around the world, the world has to see that we practice what we preach. and i think the treatment of bradley manning while the prosecution is legitimate, the restrictive treatment undermines the credibility of that prosecution and it has an effect

in terms of opinions in this country and around the world. i expressed what i said and i stand by my word. >>shepard: yet the resignation , will history reflect kindly on the period where we abused and tortured people under the last administration, and now we are mistreating a person who mistreated us, and you wonder where the end of that is, and when it is that service of our people can speak the truth and then have to resign as a result. you wonder if this could not work the other way around. >>guest: i have worked in bureaucracies for 30 years, and including 26 in the military, and it is very important that institutions like ours that are important to our security they have to have a larger view. just because an activity could be legal or legitimate, doesn't make it right, in terms of policy. that is what i expressed to the students at m.i.t., and what i

believe and i will keep expressing this view. >>shepard: great to have you back on p.j., thank you. form spokesman, i guess, assistant secretary of state, for longer employed, resigned. new york city has a snake now, that is next. [ older brother ] h, that's the last crescent.

[ younger brother ] oh, do you want it? yeah. ok, we'll split it. [ female announcer ] made fresh, so light... ...buttery and flaky... this is half. that is not half. guys i have more. [ fele announcer ] do you have enough crescents? it's like hardwiring the market right into my desktop. launch my watchlist -- a popping stock catches my eye. pull up the price chart. see what the analysts say. as i jump back, streaming video news confirms what i thought. pull the trigger -- done. i can even do most of this on my smartphone. really, it's incredible. like nothing i've ever experienced. unleash your investing and trade free for 60 days with e-trade. you know rheumatoid arthritis means pain. but you may not know it can also mean destruction. not just of your joints, but of the things you love to do. and the longer you live with the aching, swelling,

and stiffness, the closer you may be to having your favorite things... taken away from you. but you can take action today. go to ra.com for your free joint profile so you can better talk to your rheumatologist about protecting your joints.

>>shepard: and missing in new york city after a snake escaped an exhibit at the zoo. look at this. said to be a cobra and it is 20" long and the zoo workers realizes it was missing on friday and closed down the reptile house. they say it is probably hiding inside the facility and will come out when it is lungry or thirsty and they will try to much can it rather than get bit. the bronx zoo with a snake on the loose. the dow had a good afternoon and now it is down a little bit you can see the green line across the thing at